


10 minutes to doom-10 years to hell

by Bran06



Category: Invader Zim, Supernatural
Genre: M/M, Romance, Short Story, Tragedy, ZaDr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:21:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25123834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bran06/pseuds/Bran06
Summary: The number 10 just might be its own evil.
Relationships: Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), Dib/Zim (Invader Zim)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	10 minutes to doom-10 years to hell

**Author's Note:**

> Please read notes at the end

Inside a motel, a small room surrounded by salt harbored a couple of which both halves should’ve been asleep. Dib Membrane sat up in bed and stared mournfully at his sleeping green-skinned alien partner. His fingers glided tenderly over the metal PAK attached to the other’s back and a light blue glow emitted from it. His lips upturned slightly as his own heart filled with warmth, despite the circumstances. 

Dib’s last act before quietly hopping out of bed was to lean down and gently press his lips to the other’s temple. He wanted more than anything to actually say goodbye properly, and beyond that, stay. The former wasn’t kind, though, and would lead his partner to what would no doubt be a gut-wrenching truth. As for the later, he simply no longer had anything to give and now his debt came due.

He took one last look around the room, just to make sure all the extra precautions of the night were set, then it was with a shaky hand and dry mouth that he reached for the door knob.

“Dib?” 

Dib cursed under his breath and turned to face his partner whose giant pink sapphire stone eyes scanned the room. It was clear they’d spotted the additional spice mixing with the salt then panned to something hidden behind a window curtain. 

“Zim” The reply was half a warning and half a plea, but the alien plucked a hidden bag of herbs from the windowsill anyway. There was one by the door too, Dib wasn’t taking any chances. 

Dib found himself slammed against the wall with metal piercing the drywall around his form almost immediately after the discovery. He winced and silent, pleading hazel met bulging sapphire stone that featured tears already forming in their corners. DIb’s heart pounded and he willed the stinging pangs to stay at bay. He had all of eternity for guilt, right then he had to focus on getting out of there. 

“Devil’s Shoestring?! Goofer dust?!” Zim demanded, though with the voice cracking and aforementioned tears, it was obvious that the pieces already clicked “Why would you need this?!”

“G-Go back to bed, Space boy” Dib reached out in an attempt to caress Zim’s cheek, but Zim cinched his jaw and ducked his head away. Dib settled for resting his hand on the medal PAK legs. 

“You made a deal, didn’t you!?”

“Zim--” 

“Do not lie to Zim!”

Dib inhaled through his mouth and let the air flow back out through his nose just as slowly. In this moment, he reminisced about all the years they’d known each other. Their beginnings as enemies, legitimately trying to kill each other with childhood pranks, quickly melted into the later years, where they’d subconsciously began allowing each other to escape. That is, until the subconscious eventually gave way to the conscious coupling caused by a first kiss. That first kiss had led to that same first night spent together in Zim’s lab.

The sudden, ghastly snarling brought Dib out of his thoughts as the creatures the carefully placed herbs were supposed to ward off clamoured to get in. He shivered involuntarily, realizing he only had a very short while before he was to be the hound’s chew toy. He could almost feel their teeth sinking into his flesh and tearing him to shreds. That thought alone was enough to break into a cold sweat, but add that a usually dreaded slow pace would be a mercy considering what came after and he could barely breathe. 

Zim’s antenna jerked in the direction of the overwhelmingly bloodthirsty sounds. He gasped and his PAK legs dislodged from the drywall and protectively coiled around Dib’s waist while the other three took a futile combat position. The expression on his face was an unmistakable combination of fear, anger, and determination as Dib felt himself none-too-gently hoisted up and whirled behind the alien. “And your contract is over? You failed to mention this for the entire 10 years!?” Zim hissed “You were now really just gonna slip away without a word?!”

Dib closed his eyes. It wasn’t surprising that Zim could hear the beasts. Dib had already noticed and gushed about his partner's heightened senses shortly after the incident that led him to cut ties with the Swollen Eyeball and enter hunter life. He should have known that Zim would wake, though it made things harder. He didn’t want to fight Zim’s insistent safeguarding. He wanted to stay, to live and not have to face the ‘fire and brimstone’ that awaited him. It would be useless though, saving himself ultimately wasn’t possible, even if he managed to dodge them in favor of a full life, hell would still get his soul when his end did come. The precautions barring the hounds entry weren't for him. No, he just hadn’t wanted them anywhere near Zim.

“Yes” Dib responded, “I didn’t want you to worry or get hurt.” His butt abruptly hit the floor as the PAK leg holding him in mid-air released him and he let out a grunt of discomfort. He was knocked down again immediately after picking himself up. The extra weight of Zim’s green balled up hands gripping bits of a black trench coat as he nuzzled and wept into it, kept Dib where he fell. 

Dib wasn’t stunned. He knew his ex-enemy, now boyfriend and partner well enough. This had been exactly what he was trying to avoid. He lightly pet Zim’s head and returned his embrace. His own eyes began to water as he did so. 

“Tell me!” the alien demanded. “Why did you do it?”

Dib continued his gentle motions as he took yet another deep breath.“ Because Space-- boy” Dib bent his head and landed a peck between Zim’s two antenne. Zim squeezed him tighter and he couldn’t help but take a small comfort in the gesture. “You don’t remember this, but, 10 years and a day ago, we fought a pair of werewolves. One of them knocked your pack off” Dib’s voice went up an octave and he blinked out a few of his own tears. “You were out cold and I-I tried, but between both of them I just couldn’t g-get to you in time” 

Dib had never been so scared shitless in his life. It was the first fight that left him feeling his own beating heart in sweaty palms. He’d nearly dropped his weapon a couple times too. When the fight ended and he found he was indeed too late, there likely wasn’t a soul for miles, animal, human, or monster, that missed his deafening scream of anguish. 

“My life clock went out,” Zim concluded. Dib nodded in affirmation. 

“But I couldn’t leave it that way” 

“Well you’re as insane as they used to say if you think I’m letting you walk out that door, Dib-stink” Zim wiped his eyes, leapt to his feet and faced the door again. “We--we’ll make one of those hex-bag thingies!” he declared as Dib too rose from the ground “and then we’ll--we’ll….Oh I don’t know! We’ll do something!”

With Zim’s back turned he couldn’t see the solemn shake of Dib’s head or the upturned corners belonging to a wry smile. Their already borrowed time almost seemed to slow its pace as Dib placed a firm hand upon his alien’s shoulder. The hounds may not be able to break their way in, but they were still laying in wait. Dib needed to hurry this along before his partner actually tried something to get himself hurt or worse--killed again. Said alien’s antenne twitched and Zim turned to be met with Dib clashing their lips together. The act set in motion a powerful battle for dominance that Dib knew his alien wouldn’t be able to resist getting wrapped up in.

The main thought that went through Dib’s mind as he rifled through his pockets was about their time as enemies. Zim was the villain trying to conquer earth, yet, he was also the one between the two of them who kept his word in a temporary truce. If there was a betrayal, it was Dib himself, the hero, acting less than honorable. Zim being tossed to monsters when they were both stuck in the nightmare realm was such an example. Dib had been able to transfer the ‘hall pass’ around his neck to the alien and that had served as the perfect cover. Dib could hardly believe that after all those years he once more resigned himself to playing dirty, though the reasons between then and now were vastly different. 

Dib snaked his left hand around Zim’s waist and laid his arm in wait under where the PAK rested. He parted their mingling tongues but only an inch or so, just enough to whisper. “Zim, I need you to listen to me”

A rough serpentine tongue darted out and lightly tickled Dib’s cheeks. Dib’s stoic stare bore into the pink sapphire-stone like eyes and longingly drank in his partner’s form. His eyes trailed from the antenne reaching out to curl around Dib’s own scythe-like hair, smooth green skin that was cool to the touch, and finally to the remarkable machinery that was Zim’s PAK. Dib would much rather be peppering the exquisite specimen head to toe with kisses that would surely lead to a lot more. He brushed his desires aside, now acutely aware of the object he held in his right hand. The item was objectively light in weight, but Dib could swear it no different than a steel anchor.

He swallowed thickly before he spoke again “I failed at finding the demon and you need to know that’s not on you, okay? Go back to your old base. Reunite with Gir and Skoodge and forget about all of this”

The click that followed Dib’s words tore through the room for the whole second that Zim was still conscious. There’d been a startled gasp and then Dib was left in full support of Zim’s weight. He lifted the alien and carried him back to bed. After spreading the blankets and tucking them under cuffed hands, Dib sullenly admired his handy work, particularly the dull red and green blinking on the cuffs. 

They were after all, the very same ones he’d chased Zim from school to home with back in Ms Bitter's class when they first laid eyes on each other. Though there were some adjustments made for this occasion. Mainly, the lack of need for a key. Dib had made sure they’d auto-release in 15 minutes and enable the alien to wake again. It was more time than he really needed, but the idea of setting it for 10 caused his stomach to lurch. It took 10 minutes for Zim to perish, 10 minutes to be too late, and 10 years for a contract to expire. Dib had decided that number with all its trouble was it’s own horridly evil entity.

Dib entwined a hand with Zim’s and fiddled with a ring finger that he regretted leaving bare. It was a thought that occurred often, but the timing never seemed right, especially after having traded his soul. He leaned over and planted one last kiss upon the other’s forehead. A smirk graced his face as alien antenne twitched instinctively. “I love you, Zim” he finally whispered before resuming his earlier path to meet the fate he chose 10 years ago.

**Author's Note:**

> It may be marked as complete for now but I'm honestly not sure whether to make this a two-shot or leave it here. I guess let me know if you want to see the Winchesters?


End file.
